


It’s All About Ascension, I Guess

by gayfishjelly



Series: Left My Soul in His Vision [1]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! - All Media Types, Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon Rewrite, Fix-It, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Minor Injuries, Pre-Relationship, yugi has adhd & happy stims because I have adhd and happy stimmed writing that part okay? okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-07
Updated: 2019-11-07
Packaged: 2021-01-24 16:29:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21341257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gayfishjelly/pseuds/gayfishjelly
Summary: Atem was finally going to make the journey into the afterlife, leaving once and for all from the world of the living. Yugi already had defeated him, everyone said their goodbyes and final words… yet he was frozen in place, unable to take another step forward.
Relationships: Atem/Mutou Yuugi, Mutou Yuugi/Yami Yuugi
Series: Left My Soul in His Vision [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1534748
Comments: 1
Kudos: 68





	It’s All About Ascension, I Guess

**Author's Note:**

> I made the biggest mistake of watchin the end of ygodm early so I could write this series better & now everything hurts, a scrapped 1k angstshippin fanfic later (it just was dead plot wise tbh), here we are
> 
> after some talkin w/ my friends, I came to the conclusion that this could actually help the plot of this AU later on, not to mention I needed a fix it stat… here we are
> 
> prequel to “Piece of Me I Wish I Didn’t Need”; insp: [this fanart](https://vorejpeg.tumblr.com/post/188755257745/dailyyugi-puzzle-june-day-4-ceremony-refusal)
> 
> also you can tear song fics from my cold, dead hands

Atem stood in front of the open door, in front of the cut in half Eye of Wdjat. Beyond the blinding white light that encased the area, he could see the base glimpse of his old friends from his previous life. Everyone had already said what was needed to be said, cheering for him to move on to the afterlife where he belonged. He turned around to smile at all of the people who helped set him free from the capture of the millennium puzzle and struggled to bite back tears.

Yugi looked to be almost as torn as him, and a pang of pain shot through his heart. He was really going to turn his back on one person he had ever bonded most with throughout both of his lives… Atem let out a sad chuckle, knowing that overall this was going to be for the best, that a dead spirit was never meant to be among the living like he had been, even if he had died at an early age.

After what felt like another eternity, he turned back around with a heavy inhale, telling himself that he was finally ready to go back to where he always belonged. A few steps in, and he felt the school uniform he wore transform into what he wore when he died- the rich golden jewelry, his long cape flowing behind him, and his body felt more like his own. Atem glanced down as his hands to notice his skin was no longer the pale copy of Yugi’s, but it was his own sunkissed tone.

The tears continued to well up in his eyes as the vision of his past-life loved ones became clearer. Atem’s body suddenly felt as if it was infused with lead, and he couldn’t take another step as the tears spilled over, letting out a broken sob. The weight of the action he was about to take was bearing down on him, too much for him to handle. The thought of leaving Yugi behind echoed louder and louder in his head before it was all that he was thinking about.

Without another beat, his shoes squeaked as he sharply spun around. All of Atem’s accessories displaying his status as Pharaoh flew off back into the light; he ran towards Yugi who was walking away from the door, trying to rub all the tears out of his own eyes. Yugi’s breath was knocked out of him when Atem collapsed into him, hugging him tightly.

“A-Atem…?” Yugi shakily rasped out, voice tight.

“I can’t do it…” he sobbed into the other one’s shoulder, not caring about the crowd watching them in shock. “I can’t leave you, aibou…”

Yugi turned around in his embrace and held on as if the world was ending. To the two of them, it felt as if it almost had in the few moments before, heartbroken over having to go separate ways. Neither of them held back any tears.

“I’m so sorry- I-... I shouldn’t sta-”

Yugi didn’t let him finish the sentence, interrupting him with desperation leaking into his voice, “Who cares about the gods want?! If you want to stay, then stay!” Atem only cried harder, unsure if it was from relief or the feeling he _ was _ doing something wrong.

Soon after, the doors behind them began to close, and Atem was fading away at the same time. Yugi’s went wide as he chanted _ no _ over and over, trying to hold onto him, yet failing to keep his grasp. As soon as the doors slammed shut, the temple began to crumble around the group. Panic flooded into Yugi, and he ran to the collection of millennium items in the rubble, digging for puzzle.

“Yugi! We have to leave!” Joey shouted as he motioned for the others to go on ahead. They reluctantly went, trusting Joey once more with saving Yugi like he had done when Duke’s father’s shop burned down.

“I’m not leaving without Atem!” he cried out in both emotional and physical pain as the rocks were leaving cuts in his hands. Joey hated that he knew he was not going to be able to get him to cooperate with out the puzzle, and he rushed over to help.

The two of them were both sustaining injuries from the sharp mess of rubble, yet they went on since Yugi was refusing to give up. Surprisingly, they quickly found it all in one piece with the chain being the only part of it crushed. Joey let Yugi hold on it, deciding to carry him again so he didn’t have to worry about him falling behind. With the smaller of the two clutching the puzzle close to his chest, they made it out with the rest of the group with no more harm than exhaustion.

Joey set him down, letting out a sigh of relief, tired of Yugi’s antics. They all stood in silence, catching their breaths as the adrenaline from escaping a crumbling tomb raced through their bodies. Téa was the first one to bite the bullet of asking the question on everyone’s mind.

“Is… Is he gone?” she asked hesitantly, unsure of what exactly it all meant, especially that the puzzle was still in Yugi’s hands. She even questioned why Atem refused to move on when he was so determined in doing so only a few minutes prior. However, no one had an answer.

“Wait… Is that blood on puzzle?” Ryou squeaked out, breaking the silence again, as Yugi and Joey shyly showed their torn up hands.

A bit of scolding from Solomon and Kaiba calling the two of them careless later, they all agreed to rest back at the Ishtar’s house. Throughout the entire boat ride, Yugi only set the puzzle down once to let Ryou clean his wounds and dress them with the first aid kit they found, Marik doing the same for Joey beside him. Despite how much it hurt, he also refused to let anyone else clean the puzzle but himself. He couldn’t feel the presence of Atem, but something told him that he wasn’t gone for good and held onto that feeling.

After they got off the boat, the group split off into three cars with Marik, Ryou, and Joey in the one he rode in. Yugi couldn’t help but get a little restless in his seat as all what had just happened began to catch up with him, and he broke out into tears again. Everyone stayed silent, deciding to give what space they could at the time to him.

Everything after that just blurred in his memory, too upset and eventually numb from all the overwhelming emotions.

The next morning, Yugi slowly cracked open his eyes to find himself in an unfamiliar room, and an uncomfortable weight poking into his chest. He carefully sat up, making sure to be as quiet as possible for a reason he couldn’t place. Looking down onto where the weight was, he saw that he had been laying on top of the millennium puzzle, and he sharply inhaled as the events of yesterday came flooding back into his mind.

He seemed to be in a guest room, probably in the Ishtar’s house. He briefly questioned where the others were staying but brushed it off in favour of picking up the puzzle once more. Yugi’s chest ached from sleeping on it, but also it ached from loss. Atem was…

“Yugi?” he faintly heard and glanced over at the door to see it still shut. His heart began to race at the thought of it being the one he wanted it to be.

“Mou hitori no boku, is that you?” he whispered softly to the puzzle in his hands, full of hope.

A few moments of silence passed before Atem appeared, standing in front of the bed. He was no longer a mirror image of Yugi, but rather looked exactly like he did moments before he disappeared, only this time wearing the Domino high school uniform. Yugi set down the puzzle to flap his hands and smile brightly, filled with joy that he was actually here. Atem smiled back before throwing himself forward, crashing into Yugi, who fell back on impact, and they both laughed, so happy that they were together again even if it was only half a day apart.

Once they had felt secure enough to let go of each other, they got up out of bed so that Yugi could get ready for the day… only for one of them to notice something the other wished he hadn’t.

“Oh my gods, you’ve been making yourself taller than me, haven’t you?!” Yugi accused, noticing his other self was now the same height.

“You would if you could, too!” Atem defended himself, red in the face as he had forgot to adjust his height again now that his spirit form was changed. They bickered back and forth as if nothing had happened yesterday, just enjoying being around each other again, not noticing a third party had entered the room.

“I assume Atem’s back?” Marik chuckled out as he leaned against the doorway. He could only hear one side of the conversation, but it was still humourous to watch. The other two froze before Yugi laughed too, nodding in response.

Atem was here to stay, and Yugi wouldn’t have had it any other way.

**Author's Note:**

> I feel like you can pinpoint the exact moment I stopped listening to sad songs tbh hkshgjd
> 
> anyways, next on my agenda for this series WILL be angstshippin unless I make another stupid move that compels me to write my feelings away & then use the excuse of later planned plot points to write it


End file.
